by Jbs012010e3 — January 22, 2010—The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) has released a new standard for its third-party forest certification program, which tells buyers the percentage of certified fiber in a specific product. The new SFI 2010-2014 Standard, the result of an 18-month public review, supports a comprehensive, independent certification program that works with environmental, social and industry partners to promote responsible forest management in North America and responsible fiber sourcing worldwide.
The SFI 2010-2014 Standard is based on 14 core principles that promote sustainable forest management—five more principles than the SFI 2005-2009 Standard. The new standard also has 20 objectives, 39 performance measures and 114 indicators—up from 13 objectives, 34 performance measures and 102 indicators. To be certified, forest operations must be third party-audited to these requirements by independent, objective and accredited certification bodies.
The new standard took effect on January 1, 2010, and program participants have up to one year to implement these changes.
